Written by
Amanda Wong
[Tutorial]Enable NTFS Write Support on macOS Sonoma
Summary: This post aims to guide you to read and write NTFS drive on macOS Sonoma. It answers whether the latest macOS Sonoma supports NTFS and how to gain full NTFS read and write support on macOS Sonoma in different ways.
The latest macOS Sonoma brings a bunch of powerful features such as widgets on the desktop, Game Mode, the web app, and more. It may attract you to install macOS Sonoma on your Mac device. Perhaps you have used Mac before and know that NTFS drive is read-only on previous macOS versions, or you are new to Mac and want to know how to read/write NTFS on macOS Sonoma, this post is right for you.
| How to read&write NTFS on macOS Sonoma | Applied to |
| Use NTFS drive on Mac with iBoysoft NTFS for Mac | Intel Macs, Apple Silicon Macs |
| Create Windows partition via Boot Camp Assistant | Intel Macs only |
| Format the NTFS drive on the Mac | All Macs but erasing data |
The Best Way to write NTFS drive on macOS Sonoma 14
On macOS Monterey/Big Sur, you can enable NTFS write support in multiple ways, including running commands in Terminal, using Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows to fully access the NTFS drive, applying third-party NTFS for Mac software, and reformatting the NTFS drive to make it compatible with Mac.
Since macOS 13 Ventura, you can not enable NTFS write support via running commands in the Terminal, the same is true on macOS 14 Sonoma. Besides, Boot Camp Assistant is not available for Apple Silicon Macs, and reformatting the external hard drive on Mac is not the best choice if there are no important files stored on the NTFS drive.
Here, we are going to dive into the method that is applicable to both Intel Mac and Apple Silicon Mac and is compatible with macOS Sonoma and earlier versions to make the NTFS drive writable on Mac without reformatting.
Write NTFS on macOS Sonoma 14 with NTFS for Mac
The third-party NTFS for Mac software can easily enable you to write to the NTFS drive on Mac. There are free and paid NTFS for Mac you can choose from. However, you may find the NTFS for Mac not working after upgrading to macOS Sonoma, given that they are not updated to support macOS Sonoma yet.
If the NTFS for Mac you installed before can't write NTFS on macOS 14 Sonoma, you can change to iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, this software is already compatible with macOS Sonoma and M1/M2 Macs. You can gain full read and write access to any NTFS drive on macOS 14 Sonoma with iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
Here is how to write NTFS drive on macOS 14 Sonoma with iBoysoft NTFS for Mac:
- Free download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac on your Mac device.
- Connect the NTFS drive to your Mac. It will be automatically mounted in read-write mode.
Note: You might be prompted by iBoysoft to install an NTFS driver and enable System Extensions in order to have full disk access throughout the installation process. You must grant the tool permission to access files in your Desktop folder during the first installation of iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
Now, you can open the NTFS drive in iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to read and write NTFS files with ease.
Share this macOS Sonoma-compatible NTFS for Mac with others.
Does macOS Sonoma 14 support Windows NTFS?
Unluckily, macOS Sonoma 14 can only read NTFS drive and cannot write to NTFS drive, just as the previous macOS Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur. And it seems that Apple has no plans to change that strategy. It has gradually phased out the Intel-based Macs and integrated all-line Mac devices with Apple Silicon, and the Boot Camp Assistant designed for running Windows on Mac is not available on M1/M2 Mac.
When you connect an NTFS-formatted drive to the Mac running macOS Sonoma, you will find the drive is read-only. Yes, you can fully read NTFS drives on macOS Sonoma 14 and earlier macOS versions, simply double-click the disk icon on your Mac's desktop to open it in Finder, just like you would with any other Mac-compatible disk. Next, open the NTFS file by double-clicking it. The quality of the file will be the same as it is on a PC.
However, you cannot edit the NTFS file since a "Read-only" or "Locked" sign appears next to the file name, that is to say, macOS Sonoma doesn't support NTFS writing. However, You can download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, a universal solution to use NFTS drive on Mac!
Let more people know whether macOS Sonoma 14 supports NTFS!
FAQs about how to read/write NTFS on macOS Sonoma 14
A
Yes, macOS Sonoma and earlier versions support reading NTFS drives by default. You can open the NTFS drive and view all content.
A
No, any NTFS drive is not writable on macOS by default even if the latest macOS Sonoma. You can only view the files but can't edit them on macOS Sonoma.
A
There are three ways you can choose from:
Reformat the NTFS drive for Mac, this will lose all data.
Use Boot Camp Assistant on Intel-based Macs to run Windows and access the NTFS drive.
Install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to easily use the NTFS drive in read-write mode.
